National Brands versus Store Brands:The Effect of Affect towards National Brands on the Affect towards Store Brands in Carpet Industry

Brands act as living identities in the business space, competing with each other in some sectors and supporting each other in other sectors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of affect towards the national brands on the affect towards the store brand and their effect on customer loyalty in the carpet industry. The role of retailer's reliability is also examined as a moderating factor in the relationship between affect towards national brands and store brand. The statistical population is the customers of a reputable carpet store in Tehran that 404 people were selected by purposive sampling and questionnaire was used to collect data. The statistical population is the customers of a reputable carpet store in Tehran that 404 people were selected by purposive non-random sampling technique and a questionnaire was used to collect data. To analyze the data in descriptive statistics, SPSS 25 software and in inferential statistics, structural equation modeling (SEM) method with partial least squares (PLS) approach and Smart PLS 3/3 software were used. Based on the results of the present study, the negative relationship between national brands and store brands (affect polarization) was not confirmed, but the affect towards national brands has a significant positive effect on the affect towards store brands. Based on the findings, the retailer's reliability that arises from the store environment, the perceptions of the store brand placement, and in-store promotional activity, has a direct and positive effect on affect towards store brand, but retailer's reliability does not moderate the relationship between the affect towards national brands and store brands. Finally, the affect towards store brands also has a positive effect on store loyalty.